Cancer surveillance in Italian army peacekeeping troops deployed in Bosnia and Kosovo, 1996-2007: preliminary results.

Objective: An excess of cancer cases was reported in 2000 among Italian troops involved in peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Kosovo. A preliminary assessment of cancer risk in this cohort was done for the period 1996-2007, based on cancer surveillance activity, which was started in 2001.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was done among 27361 Italian Army soldiers deployed in Bosnia, 31052 deployed in Kosovo, and a control group of non-deployed soldiers, whose number varies from 130275 in 1996 to 40967 in 2007.